


Teacher, Meet Caretaker

by RyuuShinobi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Other, tengu!Kakashi au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 01:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2713919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuuShinobi/pseuds/RyuuShinobi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Schoolteacher, avid hiker, and collector of rare herbs Umino Iruka meets a friendly shrine caretaker that's more than happy for the company.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Teacher, Meet Caretaker

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't supposed to be anything big, just a little drabble because my favorite AU is tengu!Kakashi. Wasn't supposed to be KakaIru either, but that's how it works out in the end. Inspired by [samsarapine's Kakushi (Hidden) fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/297195). I'll write more, eventually, but I have no plans for a longer fic. Only a series of drabbles.

“It’s an older, mostly abandoned, shrine,” the caretaker explained, looking over his shoulder towards the small but decorated building not far from them. He shrugged, shaking the too-long sleeves of his yukata out of the way, to be able to pick up and sip at his teacup once more. “Some kind of forest-mountain spirit that travellers would pray to for a safe journey through these mountains. No one comes through here anymore though, not when there’s safer routes.” The man sipped at his tea, then set it down in his lap, among the blue and white folds of his kimono. Leaning back against the wooden bench, he gave a sigh.

Iruka tilted his head from behind his raised cup. “A forgotten shrine?”

“Forgotten shrine for a forgotten god for a forgotten mountain,” the man laughed, his eye closing in amusement. “Silly when you put it that way.”

Silence, save for the light sipping of tea. Iruka broke it. “If it’s forgotten, then why are you here?” He shifted to the side, looking around the man on the bench before him, to catch a glimpse of the shrine once again. “You came out of the shrine when I came by…” Iruka took another sip of tea, and looked down at the disused fire pit before them. The days were too warm for that, but the benches where nice. “In fact, this pit had to have been used at some point, right? It’s cleaned out, as if someone makes use of it regularly during the colder nights.”

The white-haired man before Iruka laughed again, and sat up, opening his good, right eye. The way he tilted his head allowed a mess of his hair to fall into a perfect fit around his left eye, hiding majority of the large, ugly scar from view. “I’m the caretaker, I guess you could say. I don’t leave here, I merely live. It’s not hard, just takes a bit of work. And before you ask,” here, he held up a hand to Iruka’s open mouth, “I do it because that is my job. The storms got bad one week, made traveling too dangerous… People assumed the god was angry at being forgotten. Even though no one travels here beyond recreational hiking and herb-gathering, we’ve got to keep the gods pleased.” A shrug of the shoulders, the light, cotton fabric sliding effortlessly with each movement.

The traveller nodded. That made sense, though he couldn’t imagine what it would be like, to live up here, alone, for the better part of the year. How often did people find this shrine anyway? It was along a typical path, but over the years that path became less and less used. He can’t see many visitors even during the busier months. Almost seemed… useless. But… “What kind of god is he, the one that resides here?” he resolved to ask instead. He drained the last of the tea from his cup, and set it aside, now leaning forward with his elbows propped up on his thighs. Idly, a hand toyed with one of the many buttoned pockets on his hiking pants. “Seems like he would be more angry that there’s only a caretaker and a handful of visitors that hardly stay for worship, I assume.”

“What do you know of tengu?” he asked over the rim of his teacup, eyeing Iruka.

“Uh…” Iruka blinked. “Those bird spirits? Well not much, I guess, now that you mention it? I know that there’s two kinds, usually. Good and bad. Also that they have these laaaaaarge red faces with those huge noses!” He sat up again, holding out his hand in front of his face to demonstrate.

“Hm.”

“That’s about it, I suppose.” Iruka frowned. “I also know that they’re often spirits of mischief. I don’t think people usually worship them as gods, do they?”

The caretaker shook his head, his fuzzy white hair bouncing with the motions. “Not usually. Not unless there’s something special about that certain tengu.” The gesture from his shoulder to behind him brought Iruka’s attention to the shrine. “This is a shrine for the tengu that resides on this mountain, and over the surrounding forest.”

“Oh!” Iruka looked over the worn building.

“This god is an arrogant bastard though. Won’t do anything for anyone else unless you manage to bribe him with enough of your possessions, and even then it’ll take him upwards of hours to days to ever get around to doing it, but it’s usually almost too late for him to be of any help.” The man closed his eye, taking another drink in between sentences. “Thinks he’s tough shit too. Haughty. Terrifying. I’m not quite sure why people want his shrine to be taken care of when he’s a terrible god to worship. I wouldn’t worship him, anyway. Probably doesn’t listen to prayers either.”

The other man winced. “That’s harsh.”

The caretaker shrugged, standing up. “I’ve been here for years. I know what he’s like.” Glancing at the sky, he noted the way the sun was starting to fall. “Well, this was a pleasant change of pace, but I should get back to my job, and I believe you have a hike to finish?” His eyebrows rose in a telling way.

Scrambling to simultaneously stand and pick up his teacup, Iruka nearly toppled over. There was so much he still wanted to talk about, though. Like where he got that awful scar on his left eye and if anyone had properly treated it, or where he even slept at night, or if there was any way he could help out, or what the god preferred as offerings for his next trip. “Right! Thank you for the tea, it was lovely, and thank you for your time.” He held out the empty teacup, inclining his head when the other delicately took it from his hands. “Perhaps we can have tea again sometime?” he wondered, a hopeful smile on his lips. “Oh, I don’t even know your name…? I’m Umino Iruka.”

“Hatake Kakashi.” His long, almost too-pale fingers tightened around the cup in his hands, and Iruka could have sworn there was the start of a grin at the corners of his mouth.

“Nice to meet you, Hatake-san. I’ll see what I can do to get some of my students to come up here with me one weekend. We’ll clean that shrine for you so you can take a break.”

Wrinkles formed at the far corners of Kakashi’s good eye. “I’d like the company, that’s for sure.”

Iruka nodded, maybe a bit too vigorously. “Goodbye for now, Hatake-san—”

“Kakashi is fine.”

“—Kakashi,” Iruka corrected himself, laughing lightly and scratching the scar across his nose. He bowed again and stepped away from the small firepit and benches. Backpack hoisted over his shoulders once again, Iruka turned his back on two lonely teacups and an old shrine.

The entire way back down the mountain, a black kite followed Iruka, until he reached the edge of the forest, where it turned on a wingtip and vanished into the orange-red sky.


End file.
